I'll be blunt: Stay home, and I mean that in a nice way. I am a fellow American. You are somewhat conservative, like the way things are done here, and don't care for cold weather. Let me run that through the computer. [Badda-bing, badda-bong]. Okay, computer says that CANADA would be the wrong country for you. The Canadians in this forum are characteristically welcoming and are probably thinking that traveling can be broadening for you. As an American, I know better. I have some acquaintances who just came back from Tuscany. Hated it. Why? Slow Mediterranean attitudes towards service, no deep dish pizza like at Pizza Hut, didn't speak the language, their money was a fruity color, and they were inexplicably hostile to our President, who 50 million Americans want to share a beer with. They were deeply offended and were unable to see the beauty of Tuscany, coveted by so many millions of people.

The blessings of Canada are unlikely to rub off on anyone who likes things the way they are done in this country in any degree. There are two aspects of culture shock --one can be shocked by a new culture, and that new culture may very well be shocked by you. At this delicate point in US-International Relations, we simply cannot take the risk that you might go to Canada and inadvertently export the idea that we have a civilized society that is in some way to be emulated. With all due respect, please accept an offer at an American university.

Ha ! Thats a good one . Thank You , I had a good chuckle ! But I mean SERIOUSLY ..... Whats all the fuss , it is NOT so different .

Good one Cyberglen!!

This works the other way too - when I visit the USA, I do not expect that things will be the same as in Canada, and I take advantage of the opportunity to see life from a different point of view (even one that involves drinking beer with Mr. Bush ;-))).

I am a current McGill student and I can assure you if you go ahead and flaunt your Americaness, or if you continue to have the mentality that you prefer the way things work in the US, I strongly suggest that you stay Indiana.

To Dan T.
I apologize. You didn't say that the U.S. didn't have homeless. I guess I was confused by what you did say."You will likely miss the cleanliness and newness of the U.S. and you will soon learn that a $2 cup of coffee will cost you a lot more than just $2." Again, I'm not trying to be antagonistic. I guess I was too sensitive to what you might have thought. No hard feelings,I hope.

No hard feelings.

I'm actually considering going to HEC Montreal in fall of 2006. Are there current or future students at HEC on this board? In any case, this thread has been very useful.

So I won't need a car? That will be an adjustment. I have a had a car for the past 12 years! Just out of curiosity, what's the typical parking arrange at apartments that do have parking? Are the lots underground or outside? Do they charge a fee?

If you insist on having a car, very few apartments in downtown montreal provide parking. Street parking is a nightmare, and is administered by zones. you have to buy a pass from the city for your zone and display it in your window to be eligible to park on or near your street, or else you'll get slapped with a parking ticket real fast.... they do not play around. i don't know if they charge monthly or yearly for passes. in any case, i'll say it again... you'd be a fool to have a car in downtown Montreal.

buns, I have a friend who used to rent a car a few times a semester when she wanted to get away; she figured it cost her way less than owning a car in the course of a year. She would try to avoid peak times and looked for deals; this might work for you.

When you are used to having use of a car, it's hard to envision never having one.

I think the car rental suggestion is excellent. I don't own a car, but rent frequently. Weekend rentals (when I usually want a car) are pretty cheap. I can rent even a couple of weekends a month, and still spend far less than I would on a car.

Thanks for the suggestions! I don't insist on having a car even though I currently have two. What can I do? I'm living the typical suburban life.

I have a friend who lives in D.C., and he hasn't owned a car in almost 4 years. He rents occasionally, so I guess not having a car can work. Besides, being a student, I really don't want to worry about anything else other than getting through the program.

Just out of curiosity, are all of you Americans living in Montreal? If so, do you need to be bilingual to work for American companies? I'm studying French, but I'm not being overly ambitious about it. Having learn English as a second language, I know that immersion (plus hardwork) is really the fastest way to learn a language.

I am assuming that most of the people who posted here are not in fact, americans living in Montreal, but Manadians who either live there or have in the past, such as myself. If you are entering Canada on a student visa, you are forbidden from taking Canadian jobs, which require a work visa, regardless of whether the company is "american" or not. You cannot obtain a work visa as well as a student visa, it must be one or the other. Working in quebec is difficult without extensive knowloedge of business practices in French (depending on field) and most companies in the province are subject to the French language laws enforced by the "language police". Just as an asside and to clear anything up, health care in Canada is funded by the Canadian taxpayer, and Quebec is no exception. If you are not a citizen of Canada, you are not entitled to health care coverage and students are required to purchase separate health insurance BEFORE their arrival in Canada (in Quebec this is done through la regie de l'assurance-maladie du Quebec).

Yeah, that's what I figured. Looks like I'll be paying for the lower tuition with a more independent job search in the Northeast U.S. Nothing's free.

Canadian living in Montreal .....

Hi BunsofVeal,

I've lived in the Washington DC burbs, Baltimore and Montreal at various points of time in my life. Public transit I think you will find in many ways is superior in Montreal, I noticed especially in the extensiveness, frequency & punctuality of buses on weekends and later in the evening. (Some of the bus rides are beautiful even in themselves, and can take you to attractive lake & riverviews that make you feel far removed from the city.) If you ever decide that you want a car on a weekend say, Commun-Auto is a car-sharing service that some of my friends have used and been satisfied with that's not too expensive.

I sold my car when I left Northern Virginia and have not regretted it once. When I see people dealing with difficult parking, traffic jams, accidents (for some reason, Montreal has more than its share of aggressive drives) and winter difficulties & dangers, I feel especially glad. As a student at any of the 4 Montreal area universities, you'll have numerous neighborhoods to choose from that will allow you to walk to get to all the amenities you need.

Mikielikesit says " If you are not a citizen of Canada, you are not entitled to health care coverage and students are required to purchase separate health insurance BEFORE their arrival in Canada".

This is NOT true. As a US citizen and graduate student, I had an "employment visa" since being a research/teaching assistant were among my duties. As such, I paid Quebec & Canada taxes, and was eligible for Quebec medicare. IF however you are only a student (i.e., only taking courses), you will likely receive a "student visa" and will need to have separate health insurance.

"Do you need to be bilingual?" you ask. It really depends where you're going to work. I've seen in the biotech industry where I worked and I've seen in other tech areas, there were unilingual anglophones who were employed for having certain skills. For many jobs, however, especially in the government, for jobs dealing with the public, sales, many managerial jobs, a high level of proficiency in French will be required. Even within companies where unilingual anglophones work, I've seen that fluency and ease in French can open doors that otherwise might be closed.

Bienvenue au Québec

To add my two cents, while it is not entirely impossible to get a job without being somewhat bilingual, only speaking English may restrict you to jobs in the customer service/ call center field (e.g. Telemarketing, Surveys etc...) There are some stores in the West End and West Island that may be willing to hire an unilingual anglophone but I'm not positive. Good luck.

I made that statement of the assumption that students were just studying, not doing research or special grad work. My apologies.

No need to apologize Mikie :)

Mine was not really a special scenario. Many grad students, and to my knowledge most in the sciences, as part of their grad studies do receive stipends to do research or teach. They are consequently covered by Quebec Medicare.

Cheers, DAN

Dan, Mike, and others, thanks for the information. I'm aware that I'll need to buy student health insurance. I looked at the price, and it's reasonable compared to what I'm paying now through work.

I asked about employment because if I really like the city, I may want to stay for a couple of years and get some relevant work experience and pick up a third language, but my ultimate goal is to work for an investment bank or a major accounting firm in the U.S.

In othe words, I'm not looking to take jobs from Canadian citizens. I'm entirely self-funded. I'm not independently wealthy, but I have worked full time for 11 years in the U.S. I hope people don't get the wrong idea that I'm a poor student looking to bum a ride on the Canadian system. :) :)